After months of discussion and findings, the new law on the activities of crypto service providers in Europe has been adopted. Experts have decided to comment on it, and it seems the opinions are divided.
MiCa becomes a reality
The new European Union law has been passed. Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCa), is a set of guidelines for service providers, regarding cryptocurrency asset service providers (CASP). The law had long been anticipated by the market. It took many months before representatives of the European Union administration came to an agreement on its form. They finally did. Meanwhile, some experts are praising the new guidelines, while others are not leaving a dry eye on them.
Among the figures speaking positively about them is Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a trade technology company. In his view, MiCa provides what the market was expecting, namely clear regulations. In his own words:
“Not everything included in MiCa will appeal to all players, but at this point the industry simply needs to understand what is expected of it. The time for a guide is long overdue so that operators can act with deliberation.”
Complementing his statement, Gardner added that the new law is a way to clean up market abuse and manipulation. It’s also a chance to end the industry’s slowdown and send a positive signal for its development.
A welcome step in the right direction
Another positive voice on the issue is Petr Kozyakov, CEO of Mercuryo, a company that develops payment infrastructure. In his view, the European resolution is an opportunity to unleash the sector’s potential, as well as a boost to its further development. In doing so, it represents a welcome step, in the right direction. He commented more broadly with these words:
“There is a real desire for a clear set of rules to protect individuals and companies that have already adopted cryptocurrencies, to weed out bad actors and encourage others to adopt them more widely.”
A violation of Europeans’ fundamental rights?
As it turns out, however, there have been voices claiming quite the opposite. Thus an interesting observation was shared by Seth Hertlein, global head of wallet manufacturer Ledger. He believes that the European Union has missed an opportunity to regain market share and is thus lagging behind the United States, where blockchain technology is much more smoothly adopted. According to Harlein, the new regulations may violate the fundamental rights of Europeans.
